page_title: Nicholas Castellanos
section_title: 2013–2016
hierarchical_section_title: Nicholas Castellanos / Professional career / Detroit Tigers / 2013–2016
caption_attribution_description: IMG_0017 Nick Castellanos
context_page_description: Nicholas Alexander Castellanos is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs.
  Drafted out of high school in 2010 by the Detroit Tigers, Castellanos became one of the top prospects in baseball. Castellanos appeared in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the contest. He made his MLB debut on September 1, 2013. On July 31, 2019, the Tigers traded him to the Chicago Cubs. Prior to the 2020 season, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds.
context_section_description: When major league rosters expanded on September 1, 2013, Castellanos was among the players promoted to the Tigers, and made his major league debut that day, playing left field. On September 7, Castellanos made his first major league start, and recorded his first major league hit, an infield single, off Danny Duffy. However, he received infrequent playing time, as the Tigers were in a pennant race and manager Jim Leyland preferred to use players with more major league experience. He batted 5-for-18 with the Tigers in 2013.
  After the 2013 season, the Tigers traded Prince Fielder. Dave Dombrowski, the general manager of the Tigers at that time, said that they would shift Miguel Cabrera to first base, and use Castellanos as their starting third baseman for 2014.
  Castellanos hit his first MLB home run on April 9, 2014 off the top of the wall in dead center field off Josh Beckett of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He finished his rookie season with a .259 batting average, 11 home runs, 31 doubles and 66 RBIs. He was named the 2014 Detroit Tigers/Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association Rookie of the Year.
  On July 22, 2015, Castellanos hit his first career grand slam off Mike Montgomery of the Seattle Mariners. Castellanos hit .255 this season, while slamming 15 home runs and driving in 73.
  Through the All-Star break of the 2016 season, Castellanos was hitting .302 with 17 home runs and 51 RBIs, while playing as the Tigers' starting third baseman. On August 6, Castellanos was struck by a pitch from New York Mets reliever Logan Verrett, fracturing the fifth metacarpal bone in his left hand. After the game, Castellanos was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his career, and was expected to miss at least four weeks. Castellanos did not return to the Tigers until the final week of the regular season, entering a September 27 game against the Cleveland Indians as a pinch hitter. During the 2016 season, Castellanos set career highs with a .285 average, 18 home runs, .331 on-base percentage, and a .496 slugging percentage, despite being limited to 110 games.
caption: Castellanos fielding for the Tigers in spring training, 2012
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